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Saturday, February 22, 2014

The new books on my shelves, the links I loved, and my week in a nutshell.

The Weekly Rewind is my new weekend post. Since I started this blog I've
participated in Stacking the Shelves, which is a weekly feature hosted
by Tyngas Reviews,andI'm
going to continue linking to that meme, but I don't want my weekend
post to just be about the books I've received. I'm trying to make this
blog more personal, so The Weekly Rewind will be about what's going on
with me and my blog, as well as about the books I've added to my
shelves, and the links I've enjoyed over the past week from other
blogs.

My Life and Blog:

On the job front: I'm officially a substitute teacher for about 10 different school districts in my city. YAY! I picked up two jobs this week: 1. I subbed for an elementary school library which was pretty fun. I thought I would mostly be checking materials in and out (I work at a public library), but it wasn't like that. Every period I had a different class come in and so I had either story hour or had to help with research projects. It was pretty awesome. 2. On Friday I subbed for an middle school English teacher (I'm certified in English). It wasn't horrible, but I had 5 of the same English classes for 40 minute periods and what the teacher left the students to do only took about 20 minutes. Each class was really good for the 20 minutes it took them to do their work--well, for the most part--but as soon as they were done, they were supposed to sit quietly and read from their personal novel. Well it was Friday, a pretty nice day after weeks of horribly cold weather, and they had a substitute teacher, they didn't want to sit quietly and read. By the end of the day, I was just completely beat up. So tired and in need of a nap, a bath, and a bottle of wine.

Regardless, I'm so happy to finally be set up with the different districts. I'm still working part time at the office, but they are actively looking for my replacement, so I'm glad that as soon as they give me the boot I'll be able to just pick up sub jobs every day until June, at least, who knows what will happen then. My lovely husband had these waiting for me after my first day. The picture's pretty bad, but they are beautiful. My favorite flowers are daisies and they make up the bulk of the bouquet.

On the blog front:

Monday: I posted a review for Perfect Lies , the sequel to Mind Games. I enjoyed this novel as much as the first. I've heard this is a duology, but I would love to have one more story--which is kind of crazy because on

Tuesday: I totally ranted about Yet Another Series and how I'm pretty over them in a discussion post. Judging from the comments, I'm not the only one.

Wednesday: I'm waiting for For Real which is about sisters on an Amazing Race type show that looks so fun.

Thursday: I took the day off blogging

Friday: A review for the movie Ender's Game. A good, although forgettable popcorn film.

On the book front:

Ok, so I have a ton of books to share with you all. I got a handful of review books I'm really excited for plus my birthday haul finally came in. So without further adieu...I hope you are all having splendid weekends!

Yep. I got it, and I'm pretty excited because I've heard nothing but good things. I'm hoping to get it started next week.Don't Even Think About It by Sarah Mlynowksi
I love Sarah Mlynowski and have read pretty much everything she puts out for years. I've already read this story about a group of students who develop mind-reading powers after getting the flu shot and really enjoyed it. The writing style of first person plural (we/us) isn't going to be for everybody, but it didn't bother me after the first couple of chapters. A review should be up next week.

A Death-Struck Year by Makiia Lucier
I don't usually pick up books about illnesses, but this historical fiction story about the Spanish Influenza sounds pretty interesting. 16 Things I Thought Were True by Janet Gurtler
A girl goes on a roadtrip to find the dad she's never met after her mother has a heart attack.Wicked Little Games by Kara Taylor
The second book in the Prep School Confidential series. I'm going to go ahead and just admit that I haven't read the first one yet. "But, Natalie," I'm sure you're thinking, "I thought the days of requesting sequels to books you haven't read yet were behind you." To be fair I thought this was coming out in May. Ok, I have no self control. Period. Freewill by Chris Lynch
A Printz honoree about a town plagued by a rash of teen suicides. Death Sworn by Leah Cypress
After losing her powers and place in society, a girl goes to be the tutor of a secret sect of assassins. It sounds awesome...but don't they always. It's getting pretty mixed reviews.Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor
I think I forgot to put up the fact that I snagged the first book when it was up on NG a few weeks ago. So I had to snag the sequel, of course. I've heard wonderful things about this series. The Disappeared by Kristina Ohlsson
I really enjoyed this Swedish author's debut The Unwanted which is a dark adult mystery. This is the third book in the series, but I'll probably skip #2. With mysteries that's usually alright. We'll see.

I read this book when it first came out, but wanted to give it a second look after recently reading--and loving--the author's latest. It's about a girl who, after finding out her bf was cheating on her, organizes a single-and-proud girl's club.

I've already read this somewhat unbelievable book about two teen girls who trick their parents into letting them live on their own. It's cute, but silly, which is sometimes what you need. It was on clearance on Amazon and since I needed to get up to $35 for free shipping, into the cart it went.

I didn't get around to nearly as many blogs/websites as I would have liked this week. I love working in schools, but it definitely cuts down my web time. That and the Olympics.

Well that's it for me this week. Feel free to leave a link to
whatever weekend post you do (Stacking the Shelves, In My Mailbox, etc).
I love to see what books people have recently snagged and especially enjoy hearing about my fellow bloggers' weeks. I hope you are
all having a fabulous weekend!

Awesome books…I am dying to read The Winner's Curse…can't wait to hear your thoughts. Congrats on the job front w/ subbing. I have been there w/ the middle school English class and the students NEVER wanting to read the last 20 mins of class, esp. on a Friday. The worst! haha. It's like glorified babysitting. Enjoy all your books!

Nicole just finished The Winner's Curse and absolutely loved it. I cannot wait to read it, everyone is enjoying it! Awesome new on becoming a substitute teacher :) I need to read Days of Blood and Starlight, I really enjoyed the first one but might need to do a reread since it has been so long.

That's great about the substitute teaching! You got so many great books this week. The Winner's Curse, can't wait. I recently got Don't Even Think About It, so glad you enjoyed it. I should read it soon. Loved Meant to Be (and so much more than Being Sloane Jacobs). Hope you enjoy it! ~Pam

Congrats on all fronts! Yay for subbing...I can imagine it would get stressful, as I remember the hell we used to put our subs through as we got older, but you seem like a tough cookie. :) Also, lovely flowers. I love daisies, too...daisies and sunflowers, so pretty. :) So glad you got The Winner's Curse...you should start that NOW. You won't be sorry. :P And I adore your birthday haul...I have Twenty Boy Summer on my shelf but I still haven't read it. I kind of actually forgot what it was about, so thanks for the reminder that I should read it immediately. :) Oh, and if you liked Being Sloane Jacobs, I think you'll definitely enjoy Meant to Be. I actually liked it better...way cuter, set in London, and one of the main characters is a ginger...you can't go wrong! :D Enjoy all your new reads!

I've been thinking of getting set up to substitute teach too. I keep saying I will, then get distracted and never do it. In my area all of the schools use WillSub, so I need to look into that I guess...

I really need to read DEATH SWORN and THE WINNER'S CURSE. I've had the review copies for a bit and those covers pull me in every time, but they keep getting moved down the stack for other "required" reading projects. I need to just give in!

I'm so jealous of The Winner's Curse!! Well done on scoring that one! WOOT!!! And nice little birthday haul too. So much awesome here. That sounds like a difficult Friday afternoon...gosh I'm finished school and I still find Friday afternoons very antsy if I'm out. It's like "Hallelujah I'm Free for 2 Days" time! Not sitting still time...hehe. My StS!

Good luck on the substitute teaching gig! It is hard to be a sub because so many teachers leave inadequate plans and kids often don't respect subs very much. You got some great books. I loved The Winner's Curse. Don't Even Think About It should be coming from Amazon Vine this week too. Come see what I got this week at Inside of a Dog (Adult Books) and Ms. Martin Teaches Media (YA books). Happy reading!

I am so happy for your Natalie about the subbing jobs! :D And what a sweet hubby buying you those flowers! <3 That does stink about the English classes and not leaving enough work! I always make sure I leave way more work just because I don't want the sub to have to deal with dead time. My kids ALWAYS grumble at me the next day. LOL. Yay for those review books! I'm so excited to read The Winner's Curse myself! And your birthday haul rocks! I really want to read Twenty Boy Summer! Aw heck let's be honest- I want to read ALL OF THOSE. Lol. Why are there not enough hours in my day?! Ok- I've rambled long enough! So excited for you and the job and love your new books! Enjoy them!

I really enjoyed A DEATH-STRUCK YEAR -- and isn't its cover totally eye-catching? At first, I thought it was another dystopian, so I was pleasantly surprised when I discovered it was a straight-up historical. I'm reading PIVOT POINT right now and ... I don't know. It's confusing. The premise is cool, but I'm not sure how I feel about the execution, you know?

Also, I admire you for doing the substitute teaching thing. I'm sure it's not easy! Best of luck with it -- I hope you get all the hours you want :)

Hello, there! Thanks for taking the time to comment. I read each and every one and will do my best to respond--usually on your blog instead of on mine. I will, however, always answer direct questions. Due to serious time restraints, this blog is now an award free zone, but I appreciate the thought!

About Me

I'm happily married and child-free. I love reading, movies, margaritas, and my two cats. If I could, I would bottle the smell of a brand-spanking new book and wear it as perfume. I mostly read YA, but will read anything that holds my interest. I've worked in a public library for the past 7 years and hope to remain there for many years to come.